


Cryptic Like a Cipher

by micky_has_a_fez



Series: Strong Like a Pine Tree [1]
Category: Gravity Falls
Genre: M/M, Not technically BillDip, Not yet anyways, Post NWHS, canonverse, codes and ciphers and all that fun stuff, first we need some backstory, platonic billdip, soon, things are gonna get a tad strange
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-10
Updated: 2015-11-21
Packaged: 2018-03-25 03:25:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 7
Words: 19,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3794854
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/micky_has_a_fez/pseuds/micky_has_a_fez
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It was in that moment that everything changed. How so much could happen in a matter of seconds was unknown, but as Dipper observed the reunion of brothers before him, he knew nothing would ever be the same.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Author of the Journals

**Author's Note:**

> I've had this idea for quite a long time, and I considered waiting for the new episode to come out, but I'm 98% sure it will ruin this surprisingly complex world I've created in my mind. I love BillDip (it's an obsession really) and though I've read some amazing fics, I felt a majority of them either leave lots of questions about how the sudden turn of events came about or give poor explanations for said turn of events. I know, I know. I'm taking this too seriously, but I really really wanted to write something, so I hope you guys enjoy it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the first 'code' so to speak, and then you can get on to actually reading. (I also recommend listening to the Gravity Falls theme song just so you really feel like you're watching the next episode...just a thought XD)

MIRROR MIRROR ON THE WALL  
WHO’S THE SMARTEST OF THEM ALL

~~~~~

Dipper could hardly breathe. His mind was racing, images of the past summer suddenly falling into a single collage. This was the moment he had been waiting for since the day he’d first found the journals, and yet, it was all wrong. It should’ve been when they explored the hidden bunker. It should’ve been when they uncovered the nefarious deeds of the Society of the Blind Eye. It _should’ve_ been a number of things, but not this. Anything but this. Still, time continued to move along with everyone else.

He was broken from his thoughts by the man who had emerged from the portal, the author, staring decisively at them. His resemblance to Stan was uncanny. He ran a hand through his messy hair, and that was when Dipper suddenly noticed how fatigued he really looked. A bead of sweat dripped from his temple as a heavy breath escaped his chapped lips. Grunkle Stan, though even thinking his name right now made the boy flinch, stared at his sibling in what appeared to be reverence.

“Shut down the portal,” the author demanded, breaking the wordless roar that had been hanging in the room.

Another moment of silence followed before Stan scrambled to do as instructed. Despite the fact that the large machine was mostly destroyed, the way the towering figure ordered it to be closed made him shiver. When Stan’s finger reached the smooth, red button that Mabel had once been clutching, his gaze returned to his brother once more. What was the author’s name anyway?

“Stanley…” Perfect timing, Dipper thought as his great uncle voiced Stanley’s name.

“Stanford,” he replied stiffly. The pair just stared at each other in an oddly comfortable setting. There was obviously some unspoken resentment, but in this second it was pushed aside.

That’s when Mabel let out a meow. All eyes turned to her, though Dipper worked hard at giving his sister a fierce glare. “Don’t you guys think this calls for, oh I dunno…” she said, the hints of a smile forming on her lips, “A family group hug?!?” Dipper scoffed. What a completely ridiculous idea. This was the author of the journals for crying out loud! He was technical, intelligent, clever, an-

Mabel nearly tackled Stanford, who let out a hoarse laugh and reached for Stanley. Though slightly taken aback, he joined in on the embrace with a pleasant grin. Dipper stood there, awkwardly looking at his feet. Had Mabel seriously forgiven the man who had lied to them all summer, just like that? Was she simply going to ignore the fake IDs and the newspaper and everything else they’d discovered? Apparently, because she was right there next to the Stans, chatting away.

“Whoa, dude,” a sleepy voice mumbled. Dipper easily tore his gaze away from the homecoming scene just ahead of him so he could look at Soos. It seemed that everyone had forgotten about him in all the commotion. The handyman struggled to his feet, wiping his forehead and quickly replacing his hat. His eyes widened as he caught another glimpse at the author.

“There really is another Mr. Pines?” he asked in both awe and excitement. Dipper grunted out a ‘yes’ while Mabel signaled Soos over.

“Soos! Come meet Grandpa Stan!” she said, a broad smile on her face that clearly displayed her braces. Soos obliged happily, hands cupping his own cheeks as he was still going through the shock.

Dipper let out a huff, stomping over to the corner of the not-so-secret basement and sliding down the wall until he was in the sitting position. “Great,” he muttered softly enough for no one to hear but him, “This is just great.” He tugged his cap down, crossing his arms and staring at the floor between his legs. Part of him wished everything that had occurred in these past few days was just a dream. It hadn’t gone at all how he had believed it would. Worse yet, he hadn’t even thought of the possibility of Stan having a twin brother, not to mention one that also happened to be the author. Not just any ol’ author, but the author. How had he missed that? Stan would’ve had to have a brother or sister for Dipper and Mabel to even exist.

_I told you everything you cared about would change._

The sudden voice that blasted through his skull made Dipper wince. The boy nearly jumped out of his skin, knowing exactly who those words had come from. “No way,” he muttered under his breathe, recalling not too long ago when the same sneaky dream demon had stolen his body, “I’m not letting you anywhere near my mind after what you did last time.” Once the sentence escaped his mouth, though, he immediately regretted it. Dipper’s eyes suddenly felt incredibly tired, and his entire body began to relax. Before he completely slipped into the Mindscape though, a hand was waving in front of his face.

“Yo, Dipper, why you zoning out?”

He could honestly say that he had never been more thrilled to see Wendy in his entire life. He scrambled to his feet, blinking away any trace of Bill trying to drag him into a deep sleep. “Wendy!” he cried, resisting the urge to hug the redhead right then and there. “You’re okay!”

Wendy shrugged, a small laugh bubbling from her mouth. “Well, yeah, why wouldn’t I be?” She punched his arm lightly, removing her hat and lazily flicking various pieces of lint off it. “I showed up earlier for work, but there were tons of government cars and all that stuff,” she explained, “But it was no better at home. My dad was freaking out over some kid who’d apparently called Sev’ral Times overrated, so I figured I’d find out what exactly was going on here instead.” Nodding her head in the direction of the Pines Family Reunion, she continued. “You should’ve seen the look on my face when I found that hallway behind the vending machine and another Mr. Pines in the basement.” She sighed in exasperation, despite still holding a smile. “Guess my point is that it’s been a pretty strange day.”

“Ah, yeah, um, it has.” Dipper scratched the skin just below his ear tentatively, eyebrows knitted together. He really admired Wendy for being so calm in the whole situation. Then again, it was Wendy. That was just one of her many talents.

“Hey, Dipper!”

Dipper flinched at the sound of Mabel calling his name, but nevertheless, he turned to face her with a frown. “What?” he asked, a little harsher than he had originally planned. This earned him concerned looks from everyone in the room, even Soos.

Mabel froze in place, clearing her throat and pushing aside Dipper’s cold tone. Her reaction only made his stomach flip, both with anger and anxiety. “Grandpa Stan is feeling super tired, and I think we should probably take him upstairs to rest for a bit.”

Dipper crossed his arms over his chest, not even bothering to scold himself for thinking she had been about to apologize. “So what’s stopping you? You don’t need my permission to go back up.” Another minute of tense glares and uncomfortable quiet followed.

“Well, um, that’s the thing…” Mabel attempted to explain, a nervous expression on her face as she toyed with a strand of her hair. Dipper simply raised an eyebrow, not even phased by how she was struggling. Sure, it wasn’t her usual and confident self, but why should he care? It wasn’t like she cared that much about him, not after today’s stunt at least. He only reacted when a hand rested on his shoulder, and he turned to see a worried looking Wendy.

“I think what Mabel’s trying to say is that those creepy government guys are still out there, and they’re still after Mr. Pines.”

Soos nodded furiously in agreement. “Yeah, those scary dudes are probably looking to take him away again.”

“I already had to escape those morons once,” Stan grumbled, “I don’t think you guys would want me to go through all the trouble again.”

Dipper opened his mouth, incredibly tempted to voice how he really wouldn’t mind Stan getting arrested for a second time today, but even he had his limits.

“Well what exactly are we supposed to do about it?” Dipper asked, “I mean, it’s not like they’ll pat you on the back when they find out you were just trying to get your brother back.”

“The little dude has a point,” Soos said, rubbing his chin, “And it’s not like we could magically erase their minds or something.”

Dipper’s ears perked up at Soos’s words, and his eyes immediately darted from Wendy to Mabel as they all thought the same thing. The author obviously knew exactly what was going through their minds, because he shook his head in protest. “No way, I’m not letting you get involved with that. It’s too dangerous.” Too dangerous? Seriously? He and Mabel had literally just met this guy and he was saying it was too dangerous?

“But Grandpa Stan, we already have! And the Society doesn’t even remember they existed in the first place!” Mabel pouted, wiping out her puppy dog eyes. “Their creepy meeting room place is completely deserted!”

“Wait,” Stanford said with a frown, “You kids were messing around with the Society of the Blind Eye?” His features hardened as he stared at them.

Wendy chuckled nervously and rubbed her arm. “That was a while ago now, wasn’t it?” She tried her best to sound sincere, but it wasn’t quite on point.

Their grunkle gave her a fierce look, almost as though he was about to start yelling at her for putting his ‘oh-so-innocent’ great niece and nephew in harm’s way. It’s not like he did that or anything with the portal and the whole freakin’ government showing up an-

“If anyone can handle it, it’s Dipper!” Mabel insisted, and Dipper tried not to let the warm feeling of pride bubble up in his stomach. He was still too incredibly angry with her.

The twin Stans glanced at each other nervously. “Fine,” Grunkle Stan reluctantly agreed. Before they could cheer though, he held up a finger. “But only this one time because there aren’t a lot of options. Don’t expect me to let my own flesh and blood go snooping around in the supernatural and weird happenings of this town after today.”

“It’s not like we’ve ever stopped trying to get answers before,” Dipper muttered under his breath. He hadn’t realized exactly how loud he was until after the words slide off of his tongue.

There was a long pause. Stanley opened his mouth to speak but Stanford beat him to it. “There’s a reason I specifically told you not to keep up at this whole mystery obsession, and you promised me you wouldn’t go looking for trouble anymore.”

That was when the younger Pines twin finally snapped.

“What _I_ promised? WHAT I PROMISED?” Dipper cried, his entire face contorted into an expression of rage and disgust, “What about what _you_ promised? _You_ said we were done with all the lies. _You_ said that there wouldn’t be any more secrets.” He flung his right arm out, dramatically gesturing towards Stan’s brother. “I think this qualifies as I pretty big one.” His brain felt like it was on fire now. He was still scowling, eyesight nearly blinded by his fury, but the room had fallen into yet another gasp of quiet. Dipper felt like he was about to throw up. This was all Stan’s fault. All of it. Just Stan. No one else…

Despite telling himself this over and over again, he couldn’t quite believe him. He’d known from the beginning not to trust the shady man who ran the Mystery Shack, and yet, he’d let himself. It was his own fault for trusting someone, for trusting anyone. The journal had even warned him about this, and had it ever steered him wrong before?

“Hey, uh, we should head out,” Wendy said, daring to break the tension, “The sooner we get rid of those super spy losers, the better.” She reached over to take Mabel’s arm, gently urging her forward.

“Soos? Are you gonna come?” Mabel asked softly, turning just enough to look at the handyman.

“Uh…nah…not this time…” he muttered, rubbing the back of his neck, “I probably should stand guard or something to make sure no one gets down here.” He shot a frantic look at his boss. “Mr. Pines did tell me to guard that vending machine with my life.”

There was that uneasy silence again.

“You coming, Dipper?” Wendy called, worry lining her features.

Dipper hadn’t taken his eyes off of Stan since he’d spoken a moment ago. The past conversation was still flooding through him, even after he dropped his gaze to the floor. “At least I know better now,” he said coolly. Stanford didn’t respond.

Dipper jammed his hands into the pockets of his vest before stomping over to catch up with Wendy and Mabel. Though he had taken the writings of the journal to heart before, he knew now that he had to live by them. And that meant to trust no one, not even the people closest to him. Especially not the people closest to him.

~~~~~

SMEES EH TAHW TON SI EH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm incredibly self conscious about this chapter, especially 'cuz I feel like it wasn't as strong as it could be. Eh, I just have to run with it, amiright? Updates will probably vary between every other day to once a week depending on my schedule (though I hope to get them up as soon as I can). Excuse any grammar errors and please please please ask questions and comment and all that fun stuff! I absolutely love feedback! c:


	2. The Shadow and the Cipher

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn guys, I had no idea I would get as much feedback as I did for this! I'm so thrilled that people like it! Anyway, this next chapter is a bit longer than expected, but it's super important for plot and character development and all that fun stuff. On that note, enjoy!

DRAWROF SRETTEL EERHT

~~~~~

Dipper was silent the whole way to the museum. Though the group of three needed to be hushed while slipping back up the stairs and out of the Shack, the preteen made an extreme effort not to speak at all. Instead, he kept a look of resolve on his face as he marched ahead of the girls. Nestled between his forearm and his navy blue vest was journal 3. He’d managed to snag it before they left, and he wouldn’t hesitate to flip through it if need be.

Mabel, on the other hand, was feeling torn. She walked extra close to Wendy, head down and lips curved into a frown. Had her brother not been just a few steps ahead, she would’ve coaxed some guidance out of the redhead. That wasn’t the case, though, and thus led the animosity from before to remain floating in the air around them.

It didn’t take long for the trio to reach the main part of town, but what they saw once they arrived definitely shocked them all.

Dipper nearly tripped over a fire hydrant that had been ripped from the ground. “What th-“ he muttered, staring down at the beat up piece of metal. Wendy and Mabel shot each other serious looks as they continued walking along. No wonder the government had freaked out before, Dipper thought to himself. Just look at all the damage it did to something that had literally been buried underneath a few layers of grass and dirt.

After a few more concerning sights like the fire hydrant, they reached the doubles doors to the Gravity Falls Museum of History. Since the town was still so obviously in a state of complete upheaval from all the anomalies, they snuck inside with ease.

“Where was that room again?” Dipper mumbled, running his hands along exhibit cases and faux displays of animals as he searched. Everything was so much bigger than he remembered. He couldn’t help but pause to look at some of the things on exhibition, even though history wasn’t really their top priority.

Mabel toddled up next to him, poking his shoulder. “Ow! What the heck was that for?” he cried, rubbing at the abused spot and glancing towards his sibling.

“Look at that!” she said, crouching down to reach a crumpled bill that was tucked just beneath a podium. She held it up to get a good look at it, receiving a ‘sweet’ from Wendy and a simple grunt from Dipper.

“We need to stay focused,” he said, snatching the dollar from her. Sure, he hadn’t exactly been ‘on task’ either, but whatever.

“Hey! That was mine, fair and square!” she said, crossing her arms and pouting.

“We only have a certain amount of time before those agents find the vending machine tunnel and if you really want to help Stanley…” His words caught in his throat as he fingered the cash that Mabel had discovered. “Wait a second,” he murmured, squinting at the president’s face that was on it. His eyes immediately widened as the realization hit. “Look who it is!” he said, holding the bill up so both Mabel and Wendy could see.

The two of them leaned in closer, and Mabel’s face broke into a grin. “It’s Quentin Trembley! The third!” she said, reaching out to poke the green image of him with a ‘boop’ leaving her lips.

“And he’s on a negative twelve dollar bill?” Wendy asked, nearly choking from laughter, “That’s totally sick.”

Dipper shook his head feverishly. “No, no, no, you guys don’t get it! These aren’t supposed to exist.” He fingered the stunningly fresh currency, studying it. It looked normal. Some words in Latin, the fancy lettering, and the little triangle with a top-hat just to the right of the 8 ½ president’s portrait…wait. Dipper rubbed his eyes and examined it again. Yep, that was a tiny triangle with a single eye and a little black top-hat.

“What is Bill doing on this?” he voiced, only to be greeted with a familiar, albeit incredibly obnoxious, laugh.

Looking up, Dipper noticed his surroundings had faded to grey and everything had frozen, including his sister and Wendy. He could freeze people too? A shiver of fear danced up his spine, but he stood tall as the sharp-edged figure popped into visibility.

“How’s it goes it, kid?” Bill asked, his loud voice echoing down the halls.

Dipper shot him a cold stare. “Alive, no thanks to you.” He tucked the journal behind his back as best as he could, even knowing full well that the dream demon wouldn’t fall for something like that.

“Are you still upset over that old news?” Bill cackled, poofing a cane next to him that he could lean on while breaking the basic human laws of gravity. Then again, he wasn’t exactly human, was he?

“Who wouldn’t be?” Dipper argued. “Taking over someone’s body and threatening to destroy a whole summer’s worth of their work isn’t really something people just brush off like it’s nothing!” He glared at the floating dorito, sure that he would be smirking if he had a mouth.

“Oh, Pine Tree,” Bill said, “It wouldn't be the first time! Besides, you’re so focused on the past. No wonder you haven’t figured out my master plan yet!” He dramatically flung his little stick arms out, attempting to describe how big and probably super irritating his whole plan was.

“I’ve been a little preoccupied,” Dipper replied, grinding his teeth together in aggravation. After everything that had transpired, he didn’t feel as afraid of Bill as he had during their previous encounters. How long would it last? He didn’t know. At present though, he only felt agitated with the ridiculously ‘dressed’ demon.

Bill snickered again, squinting his single eye before continuing to talk on like they were old friends. “You have been a bit busy, haven’t you? I know that I was really hoping not to have to deal with Stanley again…”

Dipper suddenly became much more interested in what Bill had to say. He narrowed his eyes, the features of his face scrunched up in thought. “Go on.”

“I knew that’d get your attention!” Bill said, floating over to place an arm around Dipper’s shoulder. He pulled back a bit, noticing how the typically friendly gesture seemed intensely menacing with Bill doing it. Other than that he stayed put, determined to learn more about the author.

Bill twirled his cane with his free hand, humming something off-key. “I really should’ve known better than to expect the grandchild of the author to give up on mystery hunting so easily.” His fingers froze, the cane disappearing in a blue flash before he reached forward and poked Dipper’s chest.

“Hey-“

“But you, kid,” Bill continued, completely ignoring the other’s protests. He let out a hoarse chuckle. “You are something else. You’re so blindly ignorant, to put it nicely, about what’s really going on, and yet you’re even more persistent than your kin!”

Dipper stared at the dream demon in silence. What was he playing at? Bill pulled back before he could figure it out, and Dipper let out a breath of air that he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“I would almost go as far as saying you have the tiniest bit of potential,” Bill stated, pausing for a brief second, “Almost.”

“Thanks…I guess?” Dipper said, finding his mind as completely confused as it usually was whenever he came across this puzzling creature. He shifted from foot to foot, expecting Bill to keep rambling on. He was quiet, oddly enough, so Dipper seized the moment for himself. “Look, I’d love to spend the rest of the day getting terrible compliments from you, but I don’t have the time.” He made sure he really layered on the sarcasm for the first part of the sentence, and the triangle did take notice.

“Aw, don’t act like you didn’t miss having me around,” Bill insisted, playfully nudging Dipper in the arm. It was nothing at all like the affectionate punches from Wendy or the carefree head bops from Soos. “Besides,” Bill added, tossing an arm lazily to the frozen, colorless setting around them, “We’ve got all the time in the universe!”

“Why would I miss you of all people?” Dipper insisted, shooting him a sharp glare, “Now cut to the chase already, Cipher!”

“Oooh,” Bill said with a fake shiver, “Someone’s grown a backbone in the past few weeks.”

Dipper desperately struggled for words, his cheeks tinting just a light shade of pink. “Why are you here?” he finally managed out, continuing in his previously failed attempts to turn the conversation away from himself.

Bill rubbed the yellow bricking just below his large eye. “Well, since you asked so nicely…” He snickered, obviously enjoying how much the youngest Pines twin was struggling.

“How do you know the author?” Dipper questioned, which only led to twenty more popping into his head. “And why did you agree to help Gideon get the deed to the Mystery Shack in the first place? Are you working with anyone? Oh, and why are you so concerned with me if I’m as dumb as you’ve said, on like several occasions?” He gulped down a lungful of air, another barrage of questions banging against his skull when he was suddenly interrupted.

“Whoa, whoa, sheesh,” Bill cried, holding up his hands, “Slow down there, kid. You of all people know I don’t work for free.” He rubbed his knuckles, or whatever feature was in place of where human knuckles would normally be, before lighting his hand up in a wisp of blue flames.

“Nuh uh, not gonna happen,” Dipper said immediately, knowing what came next, “I told you before that there was no way I would make a deal with you.”

Bill sighed. “There are only so many times I can help you along until you have to pay me back, Pine Tree.”

Dipper scoffed, crossing his arms. “When have _you_ helped me out? You went into Stan’s mind, you ruined Mabel’s puppet show, you stole my body, and you almost destroyed the journal. Not to mention how sore my arm was once I got my body back…” He counted on his fingers swiftly, eyes focused on the grey-toned, wooden boards of the floor.

Bill only rolled his eye, letting out something along the lines of a ‘pfft’ sound. “Those are minor consequences of you own actions, kid,” he claimed, “I let you all go free that day in you great uncle’s mindscape, because I was just a bit impressed. Besides, do you really think Shooting Star and Question Mark would’ve seen me making a deal with that fat little baby kid, Gideon, if I hadn’t wanted them to?”

Dipper opened his mouth in an attempt to voice a clever comeback, but the truth was, he had none. What Bill said actually made some sense. He hated to admit it, and he never would out loud, but it was true. That didn’t mean he trusted the dream demon. They were still very far from that kind of relationship. Still, why would he have let Soos and Mabel see him in the first place when he could’ve just frozen them in time like he was currently doing? And why was he just telling Dipper this information now?

“See? I’m right aren’t I?” Bill finally said, holding out his hand. “Now how about a deal? Maybe some information for you if you just do me one eency weency favor?”

Dipper’s eyes glanced from Bill to the flames and back again. He almost did it; He almost reached out and let the floating triangle engulf his hand in blue fire to seal some sort of horrible deal. He could have all the knowledge he wanted. He could fix everything. Except, he wasn’t stupid enough to actually believe it.

“I know from experience not to make a deal without knowing all the terms and conditions.” He stared at the demon stoically, his voice surprisingly firm.

“Heh, seems like I shouldn’t have taken you for the dummy you used to be,” Bill said, “I’ll just write up a nice little contract then and we can be on our wa-“

“No.”

The two-lettered word hung in the air, silencing even the great and incredibly loud Bill Cipher.

“What did you just say?” Bill’s sides started to outline red, showing his obvious anger with what the adolescent had said.

“You heard me,” Dipper replied, hoping he hadn’t sounded as scared as he actually felt. “I’m not making a deal with you.”

“Why not?” That hadn’t exactly been the response Dipper was expecting, and he took a moment to gather his thoughts before retaliating.

“Oh, I don’t know, maybe because I have no reason whatsoever to trust you! Not to mention you backed out on our last deal.” Dipper clenched his fists as he spoke. “How do I know you won’t try to hurt Mabel or Stan or Wendy or something?”

Now he was sure Bill would be smirking if he could. The sudden change in Bill’s demeanor, though slight, made the younger male shrink back a bit.

Bill pretended to pick at his triangular body, acting very nonchalant before drawing closer to Dipper’s face. “The last time I checked, you and your family weren’t exactly on good terms, am I right?”

That struck a nerve. “It’s not like that.”

“Oh, but I think it is,” Bill continued, “Shooting Star chose Stanford over you, and when you weren’t sure if he was even related to you! Talk about a betrayal.”

“She was just-“

“She was just what? Being innocent? Being kind? Risking your life, and possibly the whole world by trusting someone who had done nothing but lied to you all summer long? Does she really think the secrets are gonna stop there? And why are you bothering to defend her after that?” Bill was only a few centimeters from his face, but Dipper couldn’t get himself to move. He was frozen, both in fear and heartbreak, just searching Bill’s features for some sort of escape.

Bill seemed to realize he’d pushed a bit too far because he cleared his throat and drew back. “I’ll give you some time to consider my offer.”

Dipper couldn’t quite get all the words he wanted to scream off of his tongue, and so he simply nodded his head slowly. Whatever got Bill to leave him alone, he’d do.

“That’s my Pine Tree,” Bill laughed. It was as though the last few minutes of their conversation hadn’t ever happened. “See you in your nightmares, kid!” And with that, Bill tipped his hat and disappeared.

Dipper stood there in silence and shock, staring straight ahead at the nothing in particular. This little chat had really opened his eyes to, well, everything. Mabel probably hated him. Stan probably hated him even more. Everything that he loved, everything that he cared about, was falling apart. And it was all because of his stupid obsession with that stupid journal that he found in the stupid woods.

“Hey, Dips! You okay?” Mabel’s voice broke him from those dangerous spiraling thoughts. Dipper blinked a few times, just now noticing Wendy and Mabel standing in front of him in full color.

“Uh, yeah. Fantastic,” he said, realizing he was still clutching the dollar bill from earlier. This time, though, it was actually a dollar. He peered at George Washington’s face, quickly handing it back to his sister. “Let’s get going. I remember where that room is now.” Dipper had a sneaky suspicion that his sudden memory had something to do with Bill, but he didn’t dare voice the notion.

“You sure you’re feeling alright, dude?” Wendy asked as they began walking again, “You’ve been kind of out of it lately.”

“I said I’m fine,” Dipper snapped, not as loudly as he’d wished he had. He stomped ahead of them, just like earlier, and pushed into the room they’d been searching for. 

Just get through this, Dipper told himself. Then he could think things through in a little peace and quiet. Despite his efforts though, he couldn’t help but allow his thoughts to wander to a certain dream demon and his ridiculous offer.

~~~~~

EB TFII MOLQBZQ QEBJ XQ XKV ZLPQ

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Someone actually tried (and succeeded) in figuring out the first code! If you do actually want to and end up solving one, go ahead and comment and I'll send you a virtual hug! (C'mon, who doesn't love a good hug through the computer/phone/tablet screen?) As always, I love comments and kudos and such! AND FEEL FREE TO CASUALLY STRIKE UP A CONVERSATION WITH ME IF YOU WANNA. JUST SAYING.


	3. The Blood of the Covenant

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so slow, and it's really pathetic actually. Anyway, a lot of stuff goes down in the chapter. Seriously, I'm talking about an emotional roller coaster. Forgive my terrible portrayal of Soos, please. He is, oddly enough, the hardest character to write in my own personal experience. With that in mind, enjoy!

CFSB IBQQBOP CLOBZDUG

~~~~~

Wendy, Mabel and Dipper succeeded in retrieving the mind-eraser gun with ease. It wasn’t long before they were on their way to the Mystery Shack once more to wipe all the memories of any government agents in the area.

“What about the ones who didn’t show up?” Wendy had asked before they made it back, “You know, the computer geeks and big bosses and all.”

Dipper, luckily, had thought of everything while trying to distract himself from his conversation with Bill. “We just tell them the truth, except that they found Gru-uh, Stan, completely innocent. Then they’ll just pack up and head home, I guess.” It seemed simple enough, maybe too simple, but they were in such a time crunch that it was hardly something to be concerned with.

“Oh, that’s pretty clever,” Wendy said with a smug grin. He tried to laugh along with her, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he needed to apologize. Even if it wasn’t to Mabel, it needed to be to be said to somebody.

“So, hey, about before,” he muttered, looking down at his feet as they walked. Mabel was skipping happily ahead of the pair, humming some song from that one really popular band. “When I kinda snapped at you in the museum…”

“Dipper, dude, stop right there.” She ceased walking, turning to look him square in the eyes. “I get that you’re under a lot of stress, and it’s fine. I understand.”

Had anyone else said that to him, Dipper would’ve gotten upset, but he still had a soft spot for Wendy. Sure, his crush had shrunk in volume tremendously since the whole bunker incident with the shapeshifter earlier that month, but it didn’t mean he couldn’t admire her for the amazingly cool person she was.

He smiled genuinely for the first time since they’d left. “Thanks, Wendy.”

“Just, can you promise me one thing?” A lump grew in Dipper’s throat because he knew exactly what she was going to say. “Don’t stay mad at Mabel forever.” Bingo. “She’s an awesome sister, and you know she’d do anything for you, right?” Except trust him over a no good, lying, thieving guy who used them all summer long.

“Sure,” he lied, instantly wishing he hadn’t. He should’ve been honest and told Wendy that he would think about it, because after the whole incident with Bill, he really needed someone to talk to. And who better to talk to than his twin? Maybe not, though. He couldn’t forget his whole ‘trust no one’ bit. It was honestly a lot easier said than done.

Soon enough, the trio arrived in front of the Mystery Shack and began working together to complete the rather difficult task at hand. It had sounded better when Dipper first explained it back in the woods, but the fact that there were so many government creeps prowling around the property and recouping from the last gravity anomaly was definitely a problem. They somehow managed, though.

Wendy was in charge of shooting the mind-eraser gun, since Mabel had insisted on standing guard with her grappling hook (where had she been keeping that?) behind the natural barricade she had roughly thrown together. This, of course, left Dipper with the task of maneuvering between the trucks and supplies to feed the government officials their new information.

The closest they came to getting caught was when Dipper tripped over a tree stump and ended up sprawled in the line of sight of an operative standing guard. Wendy had to go into rapid fire mode while Dipper flailed around like a dancing monkey trying to give the correct people the correct info. Mabel assisted by singing the Pupil of the Cheetah at an extraordinarily high pitch. She also provided the occasional shot from her beloved grappling hook when one of the security guys got too close to her brother. 

All-in-all, Dipper would say it went surprisingly smoothly. Perhaps it would’ve been even simpler if they shot them all at once and then explained everything in one big speech, but hey, they still got the job done.

“Let’s hope we’ll never have to do that again,” Dipper said once all the government vehicles had been loaded up and driven out by orders of Agent Powers himself. He whipped the sweat from his head and took the gun from Wendy before she could even respond.

“What are we gonna do with it, broski?” Mabel asked, tilting her head slightly to the side.

“I don’t really know,” he admitted, looking down at the machine in his hands. He didn’t want Stan to get ahold of it in fear he would try and use it on the customers or even the two of them.

“Why not give it back to McGucket?” Wendy suggested.

_That could be really helpful, kid. Don’t give up such a powerful weapon just yet._

“I’ll give it back to him later,” Dipper said quickly, praying he’d have a chance to pop upstairs and hide both journal 3 and the gun in his room. “We should go check on Stan and Soos and…other Stan.” He also wanted to consult the journal as to why Bill could suddenly speak to him through his mind.

_Ha! I’ve always been able to do this! You just haven’t done anything that interesting until now._

Dipper put out his best effort to ignore the triangle.

“Ugh, we’re probably gonna get stuck cleaning up that whole mess downstairs, aren’t we?” Wendy asked to neither of them in particular. She sighed, shooting a weak grin at the siblings as well as a two-fingered salute while she pushed her way into the rather disheveled shop.

“It could’ve been a lot worse,” Mabel said with a shrug, following the redhead at a slower pace and ushering Dipper to tag along.

“To you, maybe.” He let out a huff, pushing passed her and making his way towards the stairs.

“Wait, Dipper,” she cried, grabbing his arm to stop him.

Dipper tore his limb from her grip, not even bothering to look back. “I’m not in the mood right now,” he said emotionlessly before continuing up the stairs and slamming their bedroom door behind him.

He sat with his back against the locked door, head in hands and eyes doing their best to hold back tears. He could feel Bill prodding and poking at his mind, trying to get in. Dipper held strong though, too angry with himself to allow an insane demon into his head.

This bedroom had so many memories, though, and he couldn’t help but cringe at the mess that had been made. Though it wasn’t as bad as the basement where the portal was, both his and Mabel’s beds were covered in red glass from the shattered window. Still, Waddles was sitting comfortably in the corner of the room, sound asleep.

The adolescent gulped, swallowing his emotions and clutching the third journal to his chest. After a moment, he flipped through it in silence, fingers ghosting across the worn pages. Oh what he would give to talk to someone he wasn’t related to or that was intent on making some sort of demonic deal with him. Instead, more questions and doubts wiggled into his thoughts. What were all those fake I.D.s about in Stan’s office? And how did Stanley get in into the portal thing in the first place? What would it mean for Dipper now? If meeting the author had been his goal since he’d arrived in town, why did he feel so terrible?

Dipper knew the answer to the last one, he just didn’t want to think about it anymore.

“Hey!” A knocking at the front door made the boy jump, and he quickly got to his feet. “Dipper! I know you’re in there!” He scrambled between the sharp remains of glass and over to the broken window. His eyes widened at who he saw pounding on the front door.

“Pacifica?” he called, getting the blonde’s attention, “What are you doing here?” He brushed some of the red pieces off the window seat so he could lean out and catch a glimpse of the youngest Northwest.

“You’re seriously asking me that?” she said with a scoff, her hip jutted out and her hand resting atop it. As usual, she was dressed in clothes that looked like they had been just stolen from a mannequin. Not that he would expect anything less. “The entire town literally lifted into the sky! I knew it had to involve you, and I want an explanation!”

Dipper rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, biting his lip. “Well, I guess you could say I sorta had something to do with it,” he said, glancing behind him at Mabel’s sleeping pig. “Hold on, Pacifica. I’ll be right down.” Though she wasn’t ideal, he had been hoping to chat with someone not directly affected by this whole incident. And it looked like he had gotten his wish.

He rushed down the stairs, shooting a glance at the opened passage to the basement before turning the knob to reveal a somewhat concerned Pacifica Northwest.

“Took you long enough,” she said with a sniff, haughtily stepping inside the half-destroyed Mystery Shack. “What happened here?” Her voice grew higher as she spoke, and the mild uneasiness that had barely been showing on her face before had now developed into a look of full worry.

“The government,” Dipper stated matter-of-factly, arms crossed over his chest.

Pacifica did a 360 until she was facing the male Pines twin again. “Uhm, wow,” she mumbled, “I didn’t expect it to be this bad.”

“Didn’t you see the rest of the town on the drive over?” Dipper asked.

“I was sort of in a rush,” she explained, “My parents don’t exactly know I’m here.”

“Oh, really?” Dipper replied slyly, “It seems you’ve been disobeying your father more often lately. I wonder why…”

Pacifica shoved him lightly, hiding a smile. “Yeah, yeah, we don’t need to bring that up again.”

The pair laughed quietly for a moment, standing in the torn apart house before Dipper finally made an effort to speak. “So, you know who Stanford Pines is obviously.”

Pacifica scoffed, rolling her eyes. “Of course!”

He hesitated to continue, not exactly sure whether or not he could trust the girl that stood before him, but after her actions and dealings with the lumberjack ghost, he had more confidence in her than he actually did in his own sister right now.

_Trust no one, Pine Tree._

“He has a twin,” Dipper said bluntly, “Who somehow got stuck in a interdimensional portal for 30 years, and Stan has been apparently working since then to…get him back?” It sounded ludicrous, even to him.

There was a heavy silence that consisted of Pacifica just staring at him until she finally opened her mouth. “You’re not joking…are you?” Dipper shook his head. She closed her eyes, letting out a reluctant breath. “What can I do to help?”

“Wait? You want to help?” Dipper asked, surprised by the girl’s offer.

“Is there something so wrong with that?” Pacifica asked stubbornly, shooting him a glare. She sighed again, dropping her arms. “I’m really trying to take a page out of Mabel’s book,” she admitted. “After I found that room with all of my family’s horrible secrets, I realized that we need to change. Since my parents obviously aren’t planning on it anytime soon, why not start with me?”

“Fair enough,” Dipper said, not in the mood to argue with her. If she was willing to lend a helping hand, who was he to turn it down? “Do you think you could start picking up the town? You know, making sure everyone’s ok and that no one’s too suspicious about what happened.”

Pacifica tapped her cheek, a grin spreading across her face. “That should be a breeze,” she stated with a flip of her blonde locks, “And also, if your uncle or whatever needs some things to help fix up your…er…home, you know where to find me.”

Dipper shot her a grateful smile. “Thanks. You have no idea how much help this is.” It was just one less thing he’d have to worry about now.

“Don’t mention it,” Pacifica said, pushing out the door, “Seriously, don’t tell anyone. My parents would kill me.” They both laughed as she waved to him and slide into the back of her limo.

Dipper couldn’t help but stare out the window as the elongated car drove away into the night, lost in the memories about their recent adventure at the Northwest Mansion that had really changed his view on the once insufferable girl. He shook whatever had been formulating in his head away, though, and instead turned on his heal to head for the not-so-secret basement.

“Mabel?” he called hesitantly, peaking into the room where he had first met his grandfather…and the author.

“She just took a load of garbage up, kid,” Stanford called, picking up journal number two and dusting it off. He didn’t even bother to catch Dipper’s steely gaze as he slipped in into his suit coat, which annoyed Dipper to no end. “Wendy! Toss me a broom!” The redhead immediately snatched one from the small pile of cleaning supplies in the corner and threw it in his direction. The way he so nonchalantly caught it and began brushing up some broken chunks of metal made Dipper shiver. Really, anything the con-man did since recently made him tense up and go clammy.

“Right,” he mumbled softly, not pausing to ask where Stanley had wandered off to.

He heard Stan yell at Soos to go pick up takeout from Greasy’s Diner for a late dinner, as well as Wendy insisting that they needed some tunes to liven things up.

“How are they so calm about this?” he asked aloud, rubbing his temple in frustration. It wasn’t at all realistic, and not to mention completely out-of-character, even for Soos. Maybe Bill was doing something with their minds or-

Dipper nearly collided with Mabel in the opening behind the vending machine. He didn’t even get to apologize as his face lit up. “Mabel! I’ve been looking for you!” he cried, clearing his throat and straightening his shoulders when he realized how happily he’d reacted to her presence. “I, uhm, wanted to talk to you about a few things.”

The preteen saw a flicker of something in his sister’s eyes before she scowled at him. “Sorry, Dipper,” she said coolly, “But I’m a little busy at the moment.”

“Busy? Seriously?” Now it was his turn to frown at Mabel.

“Yeah, seriously,” she exclaimed with a huff, “We’re cleaning up the crazy portal room, as well as the rest of the house, so Grandpa Stan will be comfortable here. Grunkle Stan also says that he has to get the Mystery Shack up and running again really soon.”

“All in one night? Don’t you think that’s a bit ridiculous?” Dipper insisted.

“You know what I think is ridiculous?” Mabel said, “The fact that I’ve tried to talk to you all day and yet _now_ you actually want to have a conversation instead of ignore me! What changed from five minutes ago when you ‘weren’t in the mood?’”

“Don’t try to blame this on me,” Dipper yelled, hardly noticing the increasing volume of their voices as they argued, “You couldn’t actually expect me to be all warm and fuzzy after you basically said you trusted Stan more than you trusted me!” His heart rate was rising now, and his urge to reconcile with his sibling had twisted back to anger.

“Grunkle Stan isn’t the bad guy!” Mabel shouted back, her hands balling into fists.

“He lied to us all summer, Mabel! Didn’t you see all the evidence in his office?”

“That’s your problem right there!” Mabel said, jabbing her finger into Dipper’s chest, “You rely too much on those stupid journals and all these facts and numbers, and you never even stop to think about things on an emotional level!”

“I was just trying to do what was best for everyone,” Dipper hollered, throwing his arms carelessly outwards.

“How about doing what’s best for our family, huh? Or do you care more about your dumb mysterious than you do about me?”

Something seemed to snap between them, shredding the paper that had already been torn. The growing tension between them finally exploded. Dipper hadn’t noticed the tears threatening to spill until now. How long had they been there?

Dipper stared at his fuming sister before turning away. “I hate you.” The words were a whisper, so soft and yet so powerful in the room around them.

Mabel brushed passed him like he had done to her not long before. “Glad the feeling’s mutual.” 

~~~~~

“Whoa there, sorry dude.”

Soos rubbed his head, looking up at the odd stranger he had crashed into just outside of Greasy’s. He quickly helped the man get to his feet before introducing himself.  
“I’m Soos,” he said, holding out a sweaty hand, “But I also accept Soos-a-saur and Questiony the Question Mark.”

The man barked out a laugh, politely shaking the hand that he was offered. “Well it is quite the pleasure to meet you,” he said, grinning. Soos couldn’t help but think that this visitor’s voice would be great for DJing or simply hosting a radio show. There was no way to describe it perfectly, but it was definitely unforgettable.

“I don’t think I’ve seen you around here before,” Soos mentioned, tapping his chin, “Are you new in town?”

“Why yes, yes I am. I just popped in for a visit, really,” he answered, sliding a hand through his almost white hair. “My hometown is a bit…warmer than this. Living in the middle of a desert wasn’t exactly my ideal, but I was born there.” He chuckled again, reaching an arm out to lightly hit Soos’s shoulder. “Plus, I heard this place isn’t exactly normal,” he added with a wink.

“Hah, you sound just like Dipper! He’s always obsessed with these freaky, supernatural things.”

“Oh, really?” the man asked, his eyes widening slightly in surprise.

“Heck yeah, and what’s even cooler is that he actually finds stuff! There was this author whose journals he found and uses when he and his sister go out on these epic quests or whatever you call them. Anyway, we’ve seen a shapeshifter and a secret society and more. He’s super protective over that book, but you seem like a legit guy so I’m sure he wouldn’t mind me telling you about it.”

“This Dipper gentleman seems like quite the interesting fellow,” Soos’s acquaintance said, humming thoughtfully. “Perhaps I’ll have to drop by and meet him.”

Soos lit up with another smile at those words. “Oh man, I’m sure he would love that! He lives at the Mystery Shack, just around the corner and down that road.” Soos pointed him in the right direction with a waggling finger.

“Well then, I’ll head over there as soon as I get the chance,” the new arrival promised, already beginning to walk away with a nod of his head.

“Oh wait, I never got your name!” Soos called before he could leave.

The stranger looked over his shoulder, a smirk on his face and a twinkle in his eye. “Just call me Tad.”

~~~~~

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**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really needed some serious relationship struggles with Mabel and Dipper, because that's honestly what this whole thing is about. I would've skipped to the BillDip if it had been otherwise. As always, feedback is encouraged, and I'll try to get the next chapter up much quicker than this one. No promises, though.


	4. The God Complex of an Oversized Doritio

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You guys all saw the new trailers for 'A Tale of Two Stans,' right? I'm going to assume so because it was blown up all over tumblr. It's really taking a lot of willpower not to start all over with this to make it more along the canon plot line, but I already have so much written and I'm incredibly lazy. NOW TRY NOT TO EXPLODE BEFORE THE NEW EPISODE NEXT MONTH, OK?

XJPIODIB DN API, V ZLPVGN JIZ

~~~~~

It had been almost week. Dipper had hardly left his room in that time, and Mabel hadn’t even spoken to him. Though they still slept in the same area, they both faced the wall. Stanford, on the other hand, didn’t even bother trying to mend their relationship. This stung Dipper more than he’d like to admit. Wendy and Soos made themselves scarce during tense moments. It was hard to believe that only a few days ago they had been launching fireworks as a family from the rooftop.

Dipper wasn’t in good shape at all, both physically and mentally. He was sleeping even less than before, regretting everything that he had said to Mabel. It wasn’t like him, and it wasn’t like his sister either. They were both stubborn, though, and kept their mouths shut tight.

This unmentioned code of silence was finally broken one day by sheer annoyance with the yelling coming from the lower portion of the shack. So Dipper snuck down, as quietly as he could, and peaked into the kitchen to see what all the fuss was about.

“I told you that I’m not getting you a cellphone!”

“Considering the fact that you turned my house into a tourist trap, I’m pretty sure I get some say in whether or not you should purchase a cellphone for me.”

“You’re still going on about that?”

“I also specifically told you never to use that portal again, but did you listen? No! Of course not!”

That touching moment in the basement had been the only one since. Dipper always assumed him and Mabel had fought a lot prior to staying in Gravity Falls, but it was nothing compared to these two.

“You know what, fine. Get a damn cellphone and see if I care! Maybe it’ll actually leave you to fend for yourself when you get in another dangerous situation!” Stan glared at his brother, swiping his coffee mug off the table. “Just don’t come begging me for help when you realize your fingers are too fat for those tiny buttons.” With that, he disappeared into his office and slammed the door.

Dipper was about to make a break for it when Stanley turned and caught sight of him. His hard features softened slightly when he saw the younger twin.

“Siblings are a pain in the ass,” he said curtly, glancing at the already locked door to Stan’s office with an emotionless stare. He turned back to Dipper, looking him straight in the eyes before continuing. “If you don’t want to end up like we did, I think the two of us should talk.”

Dipper’s stomach bubbled with both excitement and fear, knowing now that the author of the journals actually wanted to have a conversation with him. They were related after all, but that didn’t make it any less thrilling. “U-uh, sure, when do you wann-“

“Meet me back here at noon,” Stanley said, “And don’t be late.”

Dipper was left a surprised mess as the author abandoned him without as much as a ‘goodbye.’ He took a large gulp of air, calming himself, before gathering his thoughts. Today was the day when the truth would finally come out, after all this time.

_Don’t be so naïve to think he’ll tell you the whole story, kid._

“Oh? Like you’ve been totally honest with me?” Dipper responded to Bill under his breath, “I highly doubt that.” He would be lying if he said he hadn’t gotten used to the demon triangle speaking to him through his own mind., despite not understanding why or how he was there in the first place.

_You could always make a deal! Sounds fun, right?_

“How many times do I have to tell you no?”

_I’m awfully persistent too, Pine Tree. Just in case you hadn’t noticed._

Dipper groaned. “Is this the only way you’ll ever leave me alone?”

_Why don’t you come to the forest and find out?_

“The forest?”

Bill’s laugh vibrated through his skull. _It sounds more secretive and evil than just meeting you out front._

Dipper glanced at the clock on the stove before weighing his options. He did have plenty of time before him and Stanley had planned to talk.  
“I suppose it couldn’t hurt…”

_That’a boy! Now c’mon and pay your ol’ friend, Cipher, a visit already; it gets lonely in the mindscape._

Lonely? Pfft, yeah right. With a heavy sigh, Dipper slipped out of the Mystery Shack and began his trek through the greenery. “I thought demons didn’t have…you know, emotions,” he finally said, realizing it was more frightening when Bill wasn’t speaking rather than when he was.

 _Oh man, you’re a trip, aren’t you?_ There was that annoying laughter again. _You really don’t know anything!_

“So you do have emotions then?” Dipper grumbled, eyes fixed on his feet as he maneuvered around tree roots and bushes. “Don’t tell me it’s based on something stupid like the seven deadly sins.”

_Ha! What do ya think this is, kid? A crappy fanfiction?_

Dipper said nothing after that, instead tuning out Bill’s ramblings. He heard rather unimportant things here and there like the mumblings about someone named Annie. One topic he would’ve loved to delve into more was the fact that Nostradamus had apparently made a deal with the dream demon himself, but that would be a question for another time.

When he finally arrived in the specified patch between trees, he sat down with his back resting against a log and closed his eyes. “Let’s move this along, Bill. I don’t have all day.” Dipper’s voice remained steady as he tried to emit confidence.

“Yeah, yeah. I know you’ve got a hot date with an old guy at noon-o’-clock, sharp.”

The boy’s eyes flew open, revealing a very grey world. Like before, only he and Bill were in full-color.

“What’s your price for telling me the truth about the Stans?” he asked, pushing straight to the point as he desperately scrambled to stand up.

Bill adjusted his top hat, which in-turn made the whole environment tremble. Dipper instinctively took hold of a branch to steady himself. “It all depends on what you’re willing to give me, Pine Tree,” Bill said simply.

“Nothing that hurts anyone else,” Dipper answered almost immediately. He narrowed his eyes, looking up to meet with Bill’s larger one. “And that includes death.”

“Well you’re no fun,” Bill huffed, “Though I think I can work with it.”

“Really?”

Bill nodded, giggling like a school girl. “All you owe me is a can of soda when I finally get my own body. I’d say that’s a bargain!”

Dipper stifled, blinking slowly before opening his mouth. “W-what do you mean by ‘your own body?’ Are you planning on possessing someone else because I swea-“

“Relax, kid,” Bill said, rolling his eye as Dipper glared at him for the interruption, “It’ll be my own. Pinky promise!”

“So you can see the future now?” Dipper asked, hesitantly.

“Not in detail, no. Even I’m not that good,” Bill muttered, snapping his fingers to create a puff of blue flame, “Now quite asking questions or you’ll never get anywhere!” He held out his hand, which the boy looked at with suspicion.

“I’d better not regret this,” he finally said, tentatively taking the demon’s hand and shaking it.

“Empty threats actually kind of suit you, Pine Tree,” Bill teased as the fire crawled up Dipper’s arm. The boy bit his tongue to prevent a yelp from escaping his chapped lips. This only made the dream demon laugh even more.

There was a blink of light, and Dipper flinched, pulling his hand away to find…that everything was the same as before. He peered down at his hands and arms in confusion, examining them thoroughly before glancing back at Bill. “You didn’t even break a finger or anything.”

“A promise is a promise, kid.” Bill grabbed his cane out of now where, floating downwards until he was next to the Pines twin. “There’s probably gonna be a tattoo on your arm or something, though.”

“Forgive me if I find that hard to believe after last time,” Dipper grumbled, only to widen his eyes at the mention of a tattoo. “Wait, what do you mea-“ He hissed in pain, getting pretty sick of being interrupted at this point (even though no one was at fault this time around).

Bill leaned in closer as Dipper rolled up his right sleeve where the pain had been, only to reveal clean skin. “There’s nothing there…”

Rolling his eye again, Bill scoffed. “It only appears when the deal is complete,” he said, “That’s why you didn’t have one from before, since I never gave you the password to that dumb computer. Same goes for Gideon.”

“Oh.” Dipper released the orange fabric from his clutches, letting it fall back into place.

“Now,” Bill hummed, tapping his hat, “Let’s get this thing started, shall we? What do you want to know, specifically?”

Rubbing his chin, Dipper was cautious before opening his mouth. This could be his only shot at real answers, and he wasn’t about to screw it up. “How did Stanley end up in the portal in the first place?”

Bill crossed his legs, holding his hands behind the upper portion of his triangular body and let out a long whistle. “That little story, eh? I figured you’d ask about it.”

Dipper didn’t avert his gaze from the demon for even a moment, carefully sitting down on the log from before and resting his chin in his cupped hands.

Bill blinked slowly before speaking. “Glasses, or Stanley to you, whatever, and his brother had been snooping around for a while, same as you and Shooting Star have been. I took notice and told them about that whole portal thing.”

“Mmhmm,” Dipper said, knitting his eyebrows together, “What did you want with the portal, though?”

Bill glared at him, and Dipper could’ve sworn he saw his gaze flash red for a millisecond. The demon held up a finger, silencing him before continuing.

“Anyway, they worked with this other nerd of a guy to build the portal. Stanley thought I was the best thing in the world, and he was definitely right about that, but Stanford didn’t think so.” Bill narrowed his eye as he spoke. “He didn’t trust me, and they ended up in a…disagreement.”

Dipper’s eyes widened again. “What type of disagreement?” He asked it more out of instinct, perhaps because it sounded like what any normal human would say if they were in his place. He probably could’ve pieced it together himself in no time. The boy planned on utilizing his end of the deal as much as he could, though.

“They never got along. Ugh, the constant bickering was so annoying.” Dipper snorted at this but kept his lips sealed. “This one fight was particularly nasty, and Stanley ended up storming down to the basement on the verge of tears.” Bill laughed sharply. “Stanford probably guessed my true intentions then, and Stanley was just so angry that his brother was’ trying to take away one of the only friends he’d made that actually understood him,’ or something along those lines.”

Dipper was enthralled in the story by now, images of how it all could’ve gone down flashing through his mind. What frightened him, though, were all the parallels between the original mystery twins, and him and Mabel.

“All-in-all, I was able to talk a frustrated Stanley into making a deal with me in the next few days.” Bill waved his hand as if it wasn’t in any way a problem. “I actually took his body, kinda like how I did with yours.” And he was laughing again. It was Dipper’s turn to glare at the demon. “Stanley really put up a struggle, actually,” Bill stated after he had calmed down some, “We even ended up inside his body at the same time, which is never good. But Stanford punched the light outta us and BAM, out I flew. Stanley, on the other hand, wasn’t able to escape the portal’s pull because he was unconscious and all that.”

Dipper gaped at the floating triangle when he didn’t speak again. “That’s it?” he said, “But what about the portal? What did Stan and the other guy do then?” Was this other nerd actually McGucket? It wouldn’t shock him after the events that occurred with the Society of the Blind Eye. He wished he could talk with the scientist-turned-hillbilly, but no one had seen him since the day the government showed up.

Bill shrugged, scratching at his side. “Your great uncle faked his death and has been working since then to get his brother back. What else is there to know?”

Dipper knew there had to be something he was missing. Though it all made sense, there were still tons of pieces missing in the puzzle of Gravity Falls.

“Well, I hate to break it to you, kid,” Bill shouted, breaking into his thoughts, “But I’ve gotta fly. Places to see and people to be.”

“Wait, wait, wait,” Dipper cried, reaching out to grab the demon’s black arm, “You can’t just keep leaving me with more questions than answers!”

Bill leaned in closer, so he was only a few inches from the twin. “Sure I can! Besides, it’s fun to watch you struggle!”

Dipper’s huffed, his face flushed with anger. “But we had a deal! I want to know why you had them build the portal in the first place! And what happened to Stanley in the time he was gone? W-where was he?”

Something seemed to click inside Bill, or at least, that’s what Dipper thought when his triangular shape turned red and he yanked his arm away. “I did my part,” he said, coolly, “So I’ll be expecting that soda at some point.” Then he smashed his hand down on Dipper’s head before the boy could protest.

Dipper awoke with a start, sweat pouring down his face as he sat up in the middle of the lush and colorful woods. His head was throbbing and each gulp of air burned as he inhaled it.

“That stupid Dorito,” he mumbled, standing up and brushing himself off. He began stomping back to the shack, fists clenched. “Why does he think he can just do whatever he wants?”

Dipper was astonished when he didn’t get one of those telepathic answers from the mentioned demon. That was a surprise. Something he had brought up must’ve been too important to share…

Hardly any time had passed since his conversation with Bill, and with a few hours to kill, Dipper headed to the one place he knew he could always find answers: the library. It was small, and neither he nor his sister had heard of it until one day when they were out exploring the town, but it was good enough.

The little building filled with books had become Dipper’s bliss in the past week. Some days he had even stayed from dusk until dawn, flipping through every book he could find. His favorites, of course, were the ones on mystery and codes and conspiracies.

As he pushed inside the double doors, he breathed in a sigh of relief. He felt comfortable here, and that was a nice feeling considering how tense his life had been since the whole portal incident.

Dipper had just settled down with a good book. It was filled with New World Order junk, like the Illuminati and the Free-Masons and other secret societies. Ever since his adventure with the Society of the Blind Eye, he had been interested in yet another mysterious topic.

“That explains why no one remembers Stanley,” Dipper muttered allowed, thinking back to the mind-eraser gun stashed under his bed.

“What are you reading there?”

Dipper nearly jumped out of his skin at the sudden question, spinning around to find a tall, young man resting against his chair. “Uh, just a random book about weird societies and stuff,” he answered curtly, wetting his lips with his tongue.

The man leaned in even closer, his fair locks falling out of place. “I wonder if there is anything like that here in Gravity Falls.”

Dipper swallowed nervously, scooting farther away from the stranger. “I wouldn’t know.”

The man lifted his head, finally meeting the boy’s eyes as he smiled. “But you’re Dipper Pines, right? The great ‘mystery solver’ of the town?”

“How do you know who I am?” Dipper responded, sliding out of his seat and slamming the book shut.

The man laughed and pointed towards the newspaper that was resting on a nearby table. The front cover was a picture of Dipper himself fighting off a vampire bat. “Sorry to scare you, I just thought all your mystery hunting around here was interesting,” he said with a laugh, straightening his back.

“Really?” Dipper asked, dropping his shoulders but keeping a distrustful gaze on the man.

“I’m Tad, Tad Strange.” He reached a hand out, which Dipper carefully shook. “I’ve been travelling across the country looking for a certain charm, so to speak, that my old town lacked.”

Dipper cocked his head to the side. “Where did you used to live?”

“Oh, just some beat up old town in the Southwest. Nothing special,” Tad said, waving his hand. “I never exactly got along with my family. I was the odd one out, always questioning things and being paranoid. I eventually left after my parents died. My brother’s still there, I believe. Some sort of radio or TV host or something.” He scoffed, shaking his head. “I must say that I like it much better here.”

“I actually know the feeling,” Dipper murmured, scratching the back of his neck. “I guess I could show you a few cool things I’ve discovered…” It wasn’t as though anyone else cared at the moment.

“Sounds great!” Tad beamed, patting his back and urging him forward.

That’s when Dipper’s head started pounding. He rubbed his forehead, squeezing his eyes shut briefly when a voice shouted through his skull.

_Don’t trust him, kid! He’s not who you think he is!_

Bill? Why had he decided to show up now?

“Are you ok?” Tad asked, a worried look crossing his face. Dipper nodded, shaking away Bill’s warning and walking towards the door.

“Let’s get going,” he said, “There’s a lot I can show you.”

~~~~~

8 5 9 19 13 9 19 19 9 14 7 20 8 5 11 5 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you mean I made _another_ WTNV reference? _And_ made fun the the seven deadly sins emotion thing that has plagued so many BillDip fics? How dare I.  
>  In all seriousness, though, I love the whole deadly sins thing, even if it's overused. I just couldn't help myself on this joke.


	5. The Savior of Gravity Falls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'll admit that this chapter was rushed and definitely not one of my best, mainly because I wanted to get it out before the new episode! I had so much trouble with it, honestly. I agonized over every little detail, as well as the choice of whether or not to change the Stans to their canon names. After much thought, I decided against it. One, it would be super confusing. Two, it's really not going to matter by the time we get to the actual BillDip plot in the next one. So as for this fic, Grunkle Stan is still Stanford.
> 
> My goal from this point on is to publish a new chapter the Sunday before a new episode of Gravity Falls comes out. Will this actually happen? Not likely, but I'm not about to abandon this story or anything. I'd at least tell you guys, sheesh. I'm just...slow...and kind of lazy...a lot lazy. Yeah, I am so so sorry.

13 18 13 15 18 19 5 9 19 3 15 13 9 14 7 20 15 22 9 19 9 20

~~~~~

“Don’t you think he’s kind of suspicious?”

Dipper lifted his gaze from the book he was reading to Wendy, a frown creasing his lips. “What do you mean?”

The red-head shrugged, sitting up and removing her feet from the check-out counter. “Last month you would’ve been all worried about why this Tad guy suddenly showed up out of nowhere and wanted to get information from you about the stranger side of Gravity Falls.”

“You’re the fourth person to tell me that this week,” Dipper said, closing his reading material and sliding off of his stool.

“Isn’t that enough to make you worry?”

“Bill doesn’t count,” he pointed out, “He’s a floating triangle of death, not a person.”

_That’s so kind of you, Pine Tree! You’re making me tear up._

Wendy only scoffed at his protests. “Is he the reason you’re being so stubborn about this, dude? ‘Cause I’m pretty sure we’re all in agreement for once.”

_Oh, c’mon, kid! If Red can’t convince you to change your mind, I don’t know who will!_

Dipper bit his cheek, stopping himself from yelling out at the demon right then and there. He still hadn’t told anyone that Bill was poking around in his mind, only that he had showed up a few times mentioning a deal.

“I’ll…think about it,” Dipper finally answered, very hesitantly. Of course he’d had his uncertainties about Tad from the beginning, but he had been nothing but a chipper and generous guy so far. Then again, people weren’t always what they appeared to be. Surely not Tad though, right?

Wendy gave him a soft smile. “I’m just looking out for you. It’s what friends are supposed to do.”

Dipper couldn’t help but smile back, the tender moment interrupted only when he noticed the time on the clock. “Shoot, I’m late!” he cried, picking up his journal, “I was going to show Tad a few things in the woods today.”

“Be careful.” Wendy’s voice was stern as she gave the preteen a wary look but said nothing more.

As he left the Shack behind him and strolled down the road, Dipper found himself lost in thought. Maybe it was about time to talk and reconcile with Mabel. After all, she had even hassled him about Tad being a bit peculiar as well. Both twins had cooled down a lot since their fight, and speaking to one another had even rejoined the daily routine. They never could stay mad at each other for long. Though things weren’t exactly perfect, their relationship was already on the mend (more or less). On the other hand, his experience with the author had been disappointing.

“Maybe if you hadn’t run away,” Dipper grumbled to himself, thinking back to just a few days ago.

~~~~~

He had just come back from his lengthy conversation with Tad, and had a skip in his step. It was the first time someone had taken such an interest in his work, and he was glad to share his knowledge with somebody who actually seemed to care. Plus, Dipper still had a bunch of questions prepared for the author. 

He rubbed at his eyes, closing them briefly as he let out a yawn. Despite how tired he was from the eventful morning, a nap would have to wait.

Pushing through the front door with confidence, he paused at the sound of voices. Peeking his head into the kitchen, Dipper was surprised to see Mabel and Stanley sitting across from each other at the table and…laughing? All he’d witnessed of this Stan so far had been cold and closed off. Perhaps Mabel’s joyfulness was more contagious than he thought.

Just as he was about to interrupt what cheery little conversation they were having, Stanley pulled out one of his other journals from that heavy coat he refused to take off. Dipper stared in complete silence at the golden, six-fingered hand with a large number 1 on it.

“Could I ask you a favor?” Stanley insisted, handing it off to an absolutely elated Mabel. “From what you’ve told me, you’re quite the mystery lover, right? Would you mind holding onto this one for me?”

What? Mabel? The mystery lover? That was his thing! Dipper took a step back, shrouding himself in the shadows of the hallway.

Mabel happily accepted the journal with an overly enthusiastic nod. “I’d love to, and there’s no better mystery loving detective nerd than me! Dipper’s a pretty good sidekick, though.” Dipper couldn’t tell if she was joking or not. He just stood in hallway absolutely rigid, watching them with a perplexed look. 

She jumped up from her seat, opening the fridge and grabbing two Pitt Colas. “Want one?”

Dipper was trying not to fume now. Mabel was literally good at everything, and she’d always had tons of friends! Now she was taking the one thing he’d actually thought he was somewhat decent at? The thought of it made his blood boil.

He shot one last look at Stanley, who was nervously refusing a soda from his overeager granddaughter, before leaving. He had better things to do then watch the author and Mabel act all buddy-buddy anyway. Pfft, who needed them anyway? He still had Tad who was more than thrilled to listen to what the real mystery-lover had to say.

Dipper’s attitude perked right up at the thought of the oddly overdressed, purple clad male. Maybe something good had come out of this after all.

~~~~~

“Dipper!”

Dipper’s thoughts were broken by the lanky figure waving to him from the end of the forest. Tad really looked so much like a kid, except for his height and occasional fancy suit, that Dipper still couldn’t believe he was almost 10 years older than him.

“Hey,” Dipper said, a relaxed grin appearing on his face as he paused next to the taller man. Something about his presence, the way he tugged at that violet necklace he wore or excitedly nudged him when they were talking about some weird mutant creature from the woods, was calming. He wasn’t as loud and obnoxious as Bill was in his head, nor was he as boy crazy as Mabel. Plus, Tad was the first person who seemed as interested as he was when it came to mysteries.

“Where do you wanna go today?” Dipper asked, leading them through a path between the trees.

“You already showed me the gnome hideout, and the spot where that magical mailbox used to be,” Tad replied, tapping his chin in thought.

“Let’s not forget the Multi-bear,” Dipper added with a chuckle. That had been both of their favorite excursions since they’d started meeting up like this. He had been pleasantly surprised to learn that Tad was a huge fan of BABBA, just like him. It was a miracle how much alike they were.

He continued chatting casually with Tad, talking about random movies and bizarre ghost stories. It was nice, and Dipper realized the more they hung out, the more he liked having a close friend that was all his own. He usually latched onto Mabel in order to make friends, but Tad and he had made a connection without any interference from his twin. It was almost too good to be true.

“We’re pretty far in,” Dipper said, stopping in his tracks to pull the journal from his bag and flip through the worn pages. They might as well pick a place to explore now before they wasted any more valuable time on their usual babbling. “I would suggest looking for zombies, but my track record with them hasn’t been the best.” He laughed nervously, continuing to look through the old book.

“You brought your journal with you?” Tad asked suddenly, a somewhat twisted look on his face. 

Dipper was too focused to really pay it any attention, so he simply nodded without so much as raising his head. “Of course, now are you thinking something scary or something not-so-scary?”

Tad cleared his throat, features returning to a more normal look. “Whatever suits you,” he said, pursing his lips, “I’m surprised you haven’t brought the other two with you before.”

“Maybe something in-between?” Dipper murmured, mostly talking to himself as he turned passed a drawing of a unicorn. He’d have to check that out some time. “Uh, Mabel has one of them, but she usually just leaves it lying around her room.” His voice was tinged with slight jealousy as he mentioned the book that now technically belonged to his sister. “The author usually keeps the other with him at all times.”

“Interesting. And that’s at the Mystery Shack, correct?”

“Yeah, but Wendy’s shift just ended so I’m pretty sure no one’s ther-“

Dipper suddenly lifted his head to look at Tad, narrowing his eyes. “Wait, why do you want to know that?”

Before he got an answer, Tad darted away with a blur. Dipper’s heartbeat began pumping erratically as he turned left and right, trying to find where he had disappeared to. Before he even had a chance to call out, Tad reappeared next to him and slammed Dipper’s head against the nearest tree. That’s when the world went black.

He wasn’t sure how long he had been out for, but he was sure of the painful headache that rattled his brain as soon as he lifted his lids.

“W-What…” Rubbing his head, Dipper struggled to his feet. Everything came flooding back as he took in his green and brown surroundings. Tad has knocked him out, and then left him in the middle of the forest. Not to mention the fact that the journal was gone. Oh no…

The older male was nowhere in sight, and Bill wasn’t even laughing and scolding him. The sun was beginning it’s descend in the sky, indicating that he had been out for at least a few hours. This couldn’t be good. What if Tad had summoned the demon and made a deal with him? Or worse, what if he somehow stole the demon’s power? Dipper couldn’t help but panic as all these horrible and life-threatening scenarios came to mind.

He took off, dodging trees and roots as he ran towards the Mystery Shack. How could he have been so stupid? Dipper was mentally kicking himself, angered that he had been wrong and Bill had, in fact, been right. Tears were pricking at his eyes as he ran. Whether they were from the wind or his shaking emotions, he couldn’t tell.

“Stupid triangle, stupid Tad,” he grumbled, stomping into the clearing that held his summer home. He rushed inside, already out of breath but glad to find out that both Wendy and Soos had clocked out for the day. At least they were safe. He took a moment to catch his breath, gaze immediately locking onto the opened secret entrance behind the vending machine.

Without much thought, Dipper was racing down the stairs and into the basement. He pattered through the long computer room before stopping where the broken pieces of the portal were being held.

“Tad!” All other words racing through his head were caught in his throat by the scene before him.

Tad stood by the portal’s main lever, a wicked grin on his face.

“Oh my, you were faster than I expected,” he said slyly, “But I’m afraid, not quite fast enough.” That’s when he gave the lever a swift tug, and the portal somehow managed to roar to life.

Dipper watched, wide eyed and helpless as it all went down. He could already feel himself being lifted from the ground. “The portal was destroyed…this isn’t possible!” He fumbled around in the air, trying to grab hold of something, anything. This wasn’t possible. This couldn’t be real. There was no way…

Tad was balancing easily on the lever, stroking his hands over his purple necklace. “A little bit of magic can go a long way,” he said, the amulet suddenly emitting a bright, purple glow.

Dipper’s eyes widened as he felt himself engulfed in a violet hue. He stayed in the air even after the gravity had returned to the rest of the room. It was just like his battle with Gideon all over again, except worse. Much, much worse. “But the plans, you’d need all the…journals.” Tad’s laughter vaguely reminded him of Bill’s as Dipper trailed off. It was less obnoxious though, and somehow, more menacing.

“All I had to do was threaten your grandfather with a gun, and he told me how to put the portal back together.” Dipper finally noticed the slumped body in the corner of the room as Tad explained his story. His mouth grew dry when he realized who it was. “It was even easier than expected! Not to mention how gullible you were!”

Dipper struggled against the force holding him in place. He couldn’t cry, not now. He had already been made to be a complete fool by this jerk. He refused to give Tad the satisfaction of seeing him in tears. “W-why are you doing this?” He felt his throat tighten, unsure whether it was from his own fear or that stupid amulet.

Tad laughed, rolling his eyes. “Oh please, you think _you_ could unlock all the potential that’s hidden away in this town? That’s absolutely pathetic.”

It was official. Everyone Dipper ever ‘connected’ with was completely insane. No wonder he had hardly any friends, let alone ones around his own age. He was probably insane himself.

That’s when the portal completely lit up, and everything fell into a blue haze. Dipper found himself on the ground, his hip aching and his vision blurry. Tad was sprawled not too far from him in a similar state, choking and chuckling all at the same time.

“I…hafta…warn…the others…” Dipper clumsily got to his feet, just in time to see a figure emerge from the portal. This wasn’t right. This had all happened before. Was he caught in a time loop? Had he finally lost it? And why wasn’t Bill yelling at him for being a complete moron right about now?

The figure stepped forward, into the dim brightness of the basement, and Dipper could feel his heart stop.

“What’s wrong, Pine Tree? You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”

~~~~~

.... . .-- .. .-.. .-.. ... .- ...- . - .... . -- .- .-.. .-..

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about the lack of development with the author. It'll all make a lot more sense in the next chapter (hopefully, at least). I should also note that I had planned for awhile now for the author to give Mabel journal number 2 (hey man, I was pretty close, ok?) and switched it journal 1 to make it more canon. Not that it will really make a difference in the end...
> 
> I promise you'll get some more Mabel and Dipper make-up stuff in the final two chapters to come. It'll be great, tear-jerking even (Not really but you get the point I think).
> 
> Anyway, make sure to tune in tomorrow night for the new episode! *internal screaming and flailing of arms*


	6. The King and the God

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hadn't realized how long it had been since I updated until I came to check up on things. So yeah, really sorry about that. I originally wanted to get these last two chapters out before the new episode (because our favorite demon dorito is coming back and that's both terrifying and exciting) but alas, I have failed. I'll try to post the last one of this and the first one of the sequel at the same time. Not promises, though. Now, without further adieu, I hope you enjoy the incredibly rushed and really confusing climax of Cryptic Like a Cipher!
> 
> (Oh, also, a quick reminder! GF Canon Stanley = CLAC Stanford/Ford/Grunkle Stan while GF Canon Stanford = CLAC Stanley. Again, really sorry for the confusion. Blame Alex if you must.)

.-- . .-.. -.-. --- -- . -- .. ... ... .- - -... .- ... ....

~~~~~

The car alarm went off as soon as Stan’s precious vehicle hit the ground. The blaring siren pierced through the muggy air as Stan unbuckled his seat belt and struggled from the driver’s seat. He peered over to look at the two girls crammed in the back, their chattering finally silenced when the car had been lifted into the air. “Wendy? Mabel? Are you two okay?” The older man thumbed his keys, shutting off that horribly loud screeching coming from his car, before opening the back door. He had simply been picking up Mabel from her friend’s house, and even had felt generous enough to drive Wendy home. He literally had been gone for what, five minutes? And yet another disaster seemed to already be in the works.

“We’re fine, Grunkle Stan!” Mabel cried, pulling at her own seatbelt which had become jammed into the ‘lock’ position.

“Just a little shaken up is all,” Wendy added, leaning over to yank the top end free so Mabel could shimmy out. “We’ve had worse, though.” 

Stan muttered to himself, his mouth creased into a deep frown. “What the hell was that?” It couldn’t be the damned portal, could it? If his brother was messing around with that thing again he swore he would b-

His thoughts were cut into by the abrupt flash of black and white. Wendy and Mabel slide out of the car, rubbing at their eyes in confusion. That’s when they heard the laughter.

“Why does that sound familiar?” Mabel said, tapping her chin. Her face warped with worry as the memory hit her like a ton of bricks.

“Oh no, Dipper’s in trouble!” she cried, grabbing the sleeves of both the red headed teenager and her great uncle as she ran towards the Mystery Shack. “It’s Bill!”

“Whoa, whoa, slow down there, kid!” Stan struggled to keep up with his niece, tripping over tuffs of grass and rocks as he followed. “What are you talking about? Who’s Bill? You couldn’t mean-”

“He’s the evil triangle guy who went into your mind to steal the code to the safe for Gideon!” Mabel explained, not slowing her pace.

“Wait, Gideon?” Stan asked, scoffing, “That little brat’s been in jail for a while now!”

“This happened right before he got arrested.”

“He also possessed Dipper’s body and ruined your sock puppet show, right?” Wendy chimed in.

“Dipper was possessed? Where was I during all of this?” Stan cried, finally yanking his arm away from Mabel’s grasp.

“Filming us fighting, but that’s not important right now! We just have to get to Dipper, because he mentioned that Bill approached him earlier about a deal!” Mabel yelled in frustration now, pulling at her hair. “Look, I’ll explain on the way, we just have to hurry up!”

~~~~~

“B-bill?”

Dipper’s voice was anxious, his brown eyes squinting up at the humanoid figure before him.

“The one and only!” Bill laughed, and his shoulders shook. Meanwhile, Dipper’s mouth hung open. He couldn’t take his eyes off of the dream demon. It was so incredibly odd to see a human form with a flat, golden triangle for a head. It was as if someone had pasted Bill to a body. His little top hat still floated an inch above the tip of his shape, though.

Dipper took a tentative step backwards, licking his lips nervously. His jaw and arm both ached, and he could’ve sworn that there was a coppery taste of blood on his tongue. Yet, those pupils of his never left Bill’s singular one.

“W-what are you doing? Why are you even h-here?” More questions, even when he had finally got answers to a few of them not too long ago.

Bill chuckled lowly, darkly, and adjusted his bowtie (which now neatly rested on his collar like any normal human being’s would do). “I needed a way back into your pathetic little mortal world after Stanford banished me, and this was the easiest way,” he explained, glancing around the destroyed room.

“Stan…b-banished you? But you told me-”

“Oh dear, did I forget to mention that?” Bill said, mockery dripping from his voice and sizzling in a pile at his feet.

“Y-you…you…” Dipper was struggling for words, not to mention floundering to connect all of his thoughts. Bill’s constant laughter didn’t help one bit. So instead of logic, anger boiled inside him, anger that churned in his gut and darkened his cheeks with a red hue. He probably would’ve started yelling at the stupid demon right then and there had his attention suddenly been drawn elsewhere.

“Whoa, seems like Stanley’s body is finally starting to disintegrate!” Bill hopped merrily, yes, _merrily_ , over to where the author was slumped in the corner. “Hah, I guess that’s what happens as soon as you stop preserving it.”

Dipper’s face softened as he looked over at the man in the corner. He couldn’t really be dead, could he? He was the author of the journals for crying out loud! He was Stan’s brother, not to mention his and Mabel’s grandfather. “What do you mean you were _preserving_ it?”

Bill straightened his back, gaze turning away from the lifeless body and to the panicky boy who had finally dared to draw closer. He barely reached past Bill’s elbow, in the gap between the shoulder and the bend in his arm. “You never actually met you grandfather, kid,” Bill said smoothly, “At least, not the real him. You still got a chance to see his vessel, I suppose. Knowing you, though, that won’t count.”

Dipper swallowed nervously, palms sweating and hands shaky. “What does that mean, though?” He had a good guess, but for the first time, he prayed he was wrong.

“He died in the portal, not too long ago actually. Seems like good ol’ Ford was just a bit too late with reopening that thing.” Bill’s laugh rang out cruelly, and Dipper didn’t even have the heart to shoot him a glare. “It was another dimension, and he decided to be some kind of savior or king or whatever, and helped lead a revolution. Dull stuff, really.” He swatted at a speck on his black suit, words coming across as easily as a parent would announce what was for dinner.

“B-but, I did meet him. I saw him walking and talking and fighting and laughing. I saw him.” That fear was back; the fear that had once plagued his nightmares and frightened him to no end was back, and it was all thanks to Bill Cipher.

“That was me, Pine Tree. I was possessing him, keeping him alive. I needed his help to open the portal, anyway.”

“What about Tad?”

“Now he was an inconvenience,” Bill paused, humming softly as he glanced in the unconscious man’s direction, “He did end up making a nice pawn, though.”

Dipper was on the brink of tears, yet again, and he hugged his arms tightly to his skinny body to hold back the welling behind his eyes. “Is that all we were?” he finally said, cautiously asking the question that had been burning in his mind since Bill stepped out of the portal, “Is that all _I_ was? A pawn?”

Bill turned back towards him, and Dipper wished that the man, demon, whatever, that stood next to him had a face. He wanted to, for once, be able to read his emotions instead of vice versa.

“Oh boy, kid, what did you think this was? Some sort of pleasant team-up?”

Dipper hiccupped, head angled down and refusing to look at anything but the ground.

“What did you think? That we were _friends_ or something? That’s rich!” Bill was laughing again, though it was a bit more forced than before.

“I thought you said you liked me,” Dipper whispered.

“Sure I do! And that’s a pretty big compliment for someone like you who has a stick up his ass half the time, especially since it’s coming from me! C’mon, you know I hate pretty much everything to do with you stupid, flesh bags.”

“Then why-“

“I like you, kid, but that doesn’t mean I’m gonna go out of my way to make you happy. I frankly don’t give a damn about your pitiful social life. All it means is that I won’t kill you…probably.”

Dipper gaped up at Bill, features seemingly frozen. He was finally seeing this man—this _thing_ , for what he really was: a demon. He was an evil, emotionless, manipulative demon, and Dipper had been a fool for even having the inkling that he was anything more.

“Don’t look so shocked, Pine Tree,” Bill laughed again, leaning down and roughly taking Dipper’s cheeks in his gloved hand. “Though I must say, it does suit you.” He lifted the twelve-year-old from the floor by his neck, just enough to leave him struggling to get down.

Dipper’s face was a bright shade of red yet again, but this time for an entirely different reason. He pulled at Bill’s restricting fingers, legs flailing underneath him as the demon leaned in close. His eye was narrowed, and he continued to hold the boy with a relentless grip.

“Having said that,” Bill hissed, “Don’t even _think_ about getting in my way. I’ve waited long enough for this, and I’ve still got more things to do thanks to your nosy grandfather.”

The pressure on his throat was finally released, and Dipper gasped for air as he collapsed to the floor. There was shifting, and his world faded in and out of a blurry blackness. He finally came to his senses when a ‘thump’ echoed next to him. His eyelids stretched to show his surprise as he peered down at the journals stacked messily a few inches from his feet.

“Why…why are you giving these back to me?”

The demon shrugged again, and Dipper was curious as to how he had adjusted to his body so quickly. “They’re technically yours, now.” He paused to gesture towards the lifeless shell that was once Stanley Pines, and despite the edge in his voice, he sounded sad. “Besides, I have a feeling you’ll know what to do with them.”

Dipper cautiously placed his shaking digits on the golden, six fingered hand that decorated journal 1. This had been what he’d always wanted, at least, since the beginning of the summer. It was strange to think about anything before this summer, actually. A twisted feeling sunk in his gut as his mind flickered thought the past few months. Maybe it was Bill doing this to him, but then again, he hadn’t exactly displayed any of his powers since he’d come out of the portal. Perhaps the rules were different now that he was here?

“Yeah, you’ll know exactly what to do with them.”

Dipper looked up at Bill pensively, not needing to nod or anything to confirm that he got the message. The look in the boy’s eyes said it all.

“I’ll be watching you, kid,” Bill said, reaching a hand out to pull Dipper to his feet. Did that same hand really nearly strangle him to death just a moment ago?

“I know.” Oh, he knew. Dipper didn’t know how he knew, but he did. He knew that Bill was a liar, and this time around was no different. But that was Bill Cipher for you.

Bill adjusted his hat, rubbing his hands together a few times before mustering up enough energy to great a glowing blue orb. “Hasta la vista, Pine Tree.”

“See ya around, Bill.”

With a flash, he was gone, and Dipper stood in silence, holding the three journals to his chest. He let out a shaky breath, relief flooding through him now that the demon was gone. At least, physically. Mentally? Ha, like Bill said, he was always watching.

“Dipper!”

The twelve-year-old jumped, dropping the books that he had been holding so tightly just moments before. He turned, eyes widening in surprise as Mabel, Stan, and Wendy came running into the room.

“Mabel! Guys!” Dipper scrambled over to his sister, pulling her into a tight hug as soon as they were close enough. She stiffened, taken aback by the sudden embrace, but soon relaxing and returning the hug.

“I was so worried about you, stupid!” Mabel cried, rubbing at her eyes, “You could’ve gotten yourself killed! And then what would I’ve done?” She sniffled slightly, looking her twin up and down. He had a red gash on his cheek, and his neck was slightly bruised, but other than those minor injuries Dipper was unharmed.

Dipper’s gaze fell to the ground in shame as he listened carefully to her words. “Mabel, you have no idea how so-“

“Don’t!” she cried, clapping a hand over his mouth. “I’m the one who should be saying that.”

Dipper immediately licked the palm of her hand, snickering as she recoiled in disgust. Mabel glared at him, though the glint in her eye showed she wasn’t actually upset.

“Aren’t I the one who usually does that to you?” she asked, wiping her wet skin against her skirt.

Dipper only laughed some more, crossing his arms over his chest. “You’d better watch out, ‘cuz I think there’s gonna be a new alpha twin in town.”

They both giggled, Mabel reaching over to lightly shove him.

Wendy had a soft smile on her lips, even as she turned to study the nervous lines creasing Stan’s face. She nudged him with her elbow, gesturing her head toward the smiling twins. He looked at her, licking his lips, before stepping forward to kneel by his nephew.

“Hey, uh, kid?” he said, rubbing the back of his neck. Dipper’s smile fell, his face emotionless as he stared at his great uncle. “I just…I wanted to apologize…for not telling you about my brother…and for brushing it off like it was no big deal. I’m really sorry, and I want you to know that I really care about you.” He paused, sending a small grin towards Mabel. “Both of you, and I just want you two to be safe…and happy. Yeah, happy.”

Dipper studied him, another one of those heavy silence’s floating around the room. Without much of a warning, he leaned into his great uncle and wrapped his arms around his neck. He was holding back tears yet again as he rested his chin on Stan’s shoulder. “I’m sorry I didn’t believe you, Grunkle Stan.” It sure would’ve made things a whole lot easier to begin with if he had.

“I’m not sure I would’ve believed me, either, honestly.” He couldn’t hold back a smile of his own as Mabel jumped in on the hug as well. “You two are smart kids,” Stan laughed, shaking his head, “Not to mention how much you remind me of myself and Stanley when we were your age…”

The last few minutes that had occurred before his family had arrived suddenly swirled through Dipper’s head once more, and he pulled away from Stan with a worried look. “About your brother…”

“Where is the recluse anyway?” he asked, standing up and dragging his graze across the scene before them, “Don’t tell me he was knocked out or some…thing.” Dipper gulped, fidgeting in his place as he watched Stan’s reaction to the death of his twin.

“I’m sorry, Grunkle Stan. Bill told me he’s been dead for a while.” He picked at the dirt caked in his finger nails, still debating whether or not to raise his head. “He was just being possessed up until now.”

“So all this was that damn demon’s fault, wasn’t it?” Stan muttered, clenching his fists, “I thought I’d seen the last of him when I knocked the lights out of him all those years ago…” He gritted his teeth and turned to look down at Dipper. “I’d love to give him another knuckle sandwich, if he’s still around.”

“He’s, uh, gone,” Dipper sputtered out quickly, scrambling to find some kind of excuse that the others would find believable. “He just showed up to keep Tad from coming into the portal…yeah. Dangerous stuff, you know?”

“Dangerous stuff that you shouldn’t have been messing around with in the first place!” Stan shot him a glare, his features immediately softening, though, when he saw the sad look in Dipper’s eyes. He leaned down again so he was face-to-face with the boy, placing a strong hand on his shoulder. “Without me, I mean. I can’t let you kids hog all the fun to yourselves!”

Both Dipper’s and Mabel’s faces lit up at his words, and Dipper’s mind was already racing with possible things he could show Stan, and what things the man had probably already seen for himself.

“Not so fast.”

Dipper gasped in surprise as that all-too-familiar feeling of being lifted from the ground surrounded him. His eyes darted towards his sister and grunkle, seeing that they were in the same compromising position.

“The portal’s destroyed, Tad!” Dipper cried, struggling to keep himself upright within the glowing purple energy field. He was getting pretty sick of all this evil magic stuff, honestly. “You failed!” He studied the man below him with a crazed look in his eyes. His hair was sticking up in all directions, his clothes were mused and dirty, and there was a deep cut oozing with blood coming from his temple. He could hardly believe the guy he’d met at the library not so long ago was the same person.

Tad only scoffed, that overly-confident attitude radiating from him despite his condition. “Didn’t think I’d have a back-up plan, huh? Please, you underestimate me!” 

Dipper bit down on his lip in frustration, knowing he could do nothing in his current situation. Mabel simply looked on in confusion, Stan in anger, as Tad used his brilliant violet necklace to keep them suspended in the air. He cackled at their helpless state, lifting the amulet in the air threateningly, causing Dipper and his family to struggle uselessly.

That’s when there was a loud ‘bang’ and the purple hue faded away as they all came crashing to the floor. Dipper rubbed at his head, staring in astonishment at Wendy, who Tad had obviously forgotten about between all the commotions. The red head had a broken chair in her hand, and Tad lay in an unconscious heap once more.

The stunned silence that filled the room was only broken when Mabel pumped her fist in the air. “You go, sister!”

Wendy dropped the chair with a huff, one of those proud smiles on her face. “Oh, that was nothing!”

“We should probably take him to the cops,” Stan said, breathing in a deep sigh. “Before he becomes alert again or whatever.”

Dipper nodded silently, clutching at the sweaty fabric of his orange shirt. Even with a dream demon doing god knows what, he felt a sense of solace sway through his mind. Tad was apprehended, and though there was a bumpy road ahead, the first stitches in his relationship (with both Mabel and Stan alike) had fallen into place. It was strange, really, how quickly it all happened. Life wasn’t like the movies, at least, not in the way everything was pieced together. It all transpired much faster in the real world than it did in fiction. The ‘final showdown’ wasn’t all that final. The whole story itself was such a mess and Dipper knew, come the end, there still would be questions left unanswered. As much as it irked him, was this truth really all that bad?

The boy knelt down next to his ex-friend’s stagnant body, his stare callous as he pulled the purple amulet from his grasp. His doe-eyed gaze studied the treasure for a moment, imagining the many mysteries it still held, before throwing it harshly against the ground. A cloud of purple mist hissed from the broken glass and faded into the air, as though it had never existed in the first place.

He stared at the shattered pieces a moment longer before lifting his head to watch his twin. She was lifting Tad’s feet as best she could while Wendy held his torso and head up with a bit more ease. Dipper moved to help them, but he spotted a very still and quiet Stan in the corner and turned to walk towards him instead.

His great uncle wore a solemn look as he regarded his deceased brother. Dipper did a double take when he thought he saw the faintest hint of tears in the corners of his eyes.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and took hold of Stan’s arm. As if broken from a hypnotic trance, the man flinched slightly before looking at his nephew in surprise.

“It’ll be ok,” Dipper said, more sure of his words than any others that had left his mouth in a long time. He took another deep breath, briefly closing his eyelids before continuing. “Maybe it’s not ok now, and it definitely won’t be ok forever, but at some point it will be ok, even if it’s just for a moment.” His chocolate eyes finally turned to train on Stan. “And I think that’s what’s important, and what we have to remember. It’ll be ok.”

There was an instant of reflection inside Stan, and he couldn’t help but take in Dipper’s words with a bit of immodesty. He was proud of the kid, even more so now than he’d previously been.

“Yeah,” Stan finally responded, his voice tinged with hope, “It’ll be ok.” 

~~~~~

GSVB ZIV MVVWVW NLIV GSZM SV GSRMPH

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Apparently AO3 didn't put this fic on the recently updated works for billdip last update, hence why some of you may have thought this one had two chapters. As for Dipper, well, he's a pretty damn intelligent kid. And yes, Tad was taken down by a chair. It was Wendy who did it though, so that makes it ok I think.


	7. The Beginning of the End

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I haven't even opened this document in a month, hah. I'm awful. Thought I might as well throw this out to the world before the show ends. I'll come back to this series eventually, some time early next year hopefully. I do have the whole thing planned out, after all.
> 
> *In case anyone forgot, Canon Ford is Stanley in this fic (and Stan is Stanford, though he's usually referred to as Stan anyway). Man, I can't believe I started this before a Tale of Two Stans. It's been so long already...

ZMW GSV VMW LU GSV YVTRMMRMT

~~~~~

“Heya, Pine Tree!”

“Bill?”

Dipper rubbed his eyes, realizing almost immediately that he was in his own mindscape. He stared at the floating triangular figure before him in confusion. “What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t go into human minds since you’re in this world now…”

“I never said anything like that,” Bill stated, crossing his arms over his bowtie. “Though, this is taking an awful lot of energy, just stopping by to visit your dreams and all.”

Right, dreams. He was asleep. He had gone to bed late because Mabel had been all hyped about the party tomorrow.

“Annnnyway,” Bill said, Dipper’s gaze flickering back up to look at him. “I don’t have much time, so we have to make this quick.”

“Ok.”

Bill made a ‘tch’ sound as he rolled his eye. “Geez, kid, way to be enthusiastic.” He hovered downward so he was resting on the wooded floorboards of Dipper’s ‘Mystery Shack’ influenced mindscape. “How’s old Fordsy dealing with the loss of that insufferable twin of his?”

Dipper grimaced slightly as Bill teetered towards a touchy topic. “Better now. He didn’t talk a lot for the first few days, but it’s been almost a month and we’ve been keeping him busy.”

“Right, right,” Bill nodded, holding his hand at arm’s length to stretch and examine his black fingers. “Wish I could say I knew everything, but I had to waste all my power coming here.” He scoffed, clearly annoyed by the whole situation. “You have to do everything yourself nowadays, even handling all those pesky deal breakers. Though, I must admit, the maiming is loads of fun.”

Dipper wrinkled his nose slightly, almost wanting to care about the demon’s problems. If there was one major hole in this otherwise finished story of his, it was Bill Cipher. The less he had to deal with the devious monster, the better. Still…

“Is that all you wanted?”

“Oh no, but it’s nothing too significant.” Bill’s eye trailed up Dipper until the pair held a steady gaze. “Just wanted to make sure you were taking good care of those journals.”

Dipper nodded slowly, thankful that Bill could no longer read quite so deeply into his internal thoughts. Not that he could do anything about what the boy had planned, but it would be much easier if the demon didn’t know. “There’s something I still don’t understand, though.”

Bill’s eyebrow rose as if to urge the kid on with his discourse.

“You tried to destroy my journal way back when you…er…possessed me, but then you just gave them to me after what happened with Tad?”

“So, kid? What’s your point?”

“I just…I think that’s really inconsistent and doesn’t make very much sense.” Dipper frowned, pursing his lips as the words fell off his tongue.

“When have I ever been consistent?” Bill laughed, his angular body shaking rhythmically. “Hell, when have I ever actually made sense to your fickle, human brain?” He snickered some more, reaching down to ruffle Dipper’s hair. The surprisingly affectionate action caused a shiver to ripple down his spin.

“Well, Pine Tree,” Bill said after he had seemed to compose himself, “I’ll have to bid you adieu. You know how this little partnership works by now. “

“Partnership?” Even Dipper himself was startled by the lighter air of his voice when Bill mentioned this. He narrowed his eyes in suspicion. “I thought you said we weren’t friends or anything like that.”

“No, no, no,” Bill cried, shaking his arms, “I said partnership not friendship. We’re partners. There’s a difference.”

Dipper snorted. “I really don’t get you.”

“Hush, kid. It’ll all come together in the end. You’ll get your answers, demon’s guarantee.”

“Somehow I don’t find your word all that reassuring.”

Dipper was sure the conversation would’ve gone on longer had his mindscape vessel not grown fuzzy. It took no more than a moment for the twelve-year-old to find himself awake in his own bed in the attic of the Mystery Shack. He was shivering despite the muggy air that seeped through the window. The sun had barely pushed its way into the sky, and Mabel snored quietly next to him.

This was it. This was their last day in Gravity Falls.

Dipper was too shaken up to go back to sleep, so he instead he lay in bed, reading to pass the time. It wasn’t long before his sister woke up, scolded him for getting up before her and not awakening her, and then darted downstairs in her night gown. Dipper followed sluggishly, still half-asleep despite having been up for over an hour. He never had the same energy as Mabel did in the morning.

“Morning!” Wendy hollered as she rushed passed Dipper. Her arms were filled with decorations of all shapes and sizes.

“Whoa dude, you seriously look like a zombie. What, were you up ‘till three last night?” Soos said, broom in hand as he swept up the floor.

“Dipper’s always up late,” Mabel insisted, poking her head out from the kitchen with a spoon balanced on her nose. “Want some cereal, bro-bro? You’ll need a delicious breakfast if you’re gonna be energized for the party tonight!”

“Alright, alright, just get a bowl out for me,” he said, laughing lightly, “But absolutely no Mabel Juice, not even on the side.”

“Aw, you’re no fun!” his sister cried. “You sure? We’ve got a busy day ahead of us.”

“Very sure.” He’d sworn off Mabel’s crazy concoction after dripping way too much of it on their last birthday. His tongue was glittery for a whole freakin’ week!  
Dipper was quick to gulp down his cereal, and after that the time seemed to fly right by.

By the time they’d gotten halfway through their party, Dipper was very tempted to snag a glass of that potentially toxic energy drink that his sister had offered him earlier . He’d spent a majority of the day attempting to hang up streamers, only to have Mabel have him change the color at the last minute. Thank goodness for Wendy’s skills with a tape dispenser.

Now Dipper watched the small crowd as dozens of bodies swayed to the music. He was honestly surprised at how many people showed. Candy and Grenda, of course, had made an appearance. Lee, Nate, and the rest of Wendy’s crew had shown up, even Robbie. Despite it all, Dipper couldn’t get the heart to go out there and dance along. Maybe it was his 12-year-old nerves, or maybe he just didn’t want to believe he was actually leaving tomorrow.

A sharp tap on his shoulder yanked Dipper from his thoughts, and he turned to see Pacifica with a somewhat disgusted, somewhat embarrassed look on her face.

“I didn’t know you’d come to a party like this,” Dipper blurted without thinking.

Pacifica frowned at him, rolling her eyes. “Mabel invited me, obviously, and she just seemed so excited I-“ The blonde trailed off, pursing her lips.

“Mabel’s personality is pretty contagious,” he said, chuckling, “Besides, you could use some of her niceness.”

“Hey!” Pacifica playfully shoved him, knocking the boy back against the table. This just made Dipper laugh even more, which in turn caused her to break out into a fit of giggles. “Anyway, I just came to say thank you, for everything, and goodbye.”

“You going somewhere?” Dipper asked jokingly, sliding his hands into his pockets.

“Yes, actually.”

Dipper did a double-take, neck twisting to look Pacifica in the eyes. “I-I was kidding, you know.”

“Well I am actually going somewhere,” she said with a huff.

“Where?”

“Uhm…I don’t really…know yet.” When Dipper gave her a questioning look, she continued. “I’m running away.” Her words came out in a slur, and the younger twin could barely make them out.

“Wait, you’re what? Running away?” Dipper stared at her with a widened gaze. There was no way he could ever do that. Though, with parents like the Northwests, it wasn’t exactly a bad idea. It still took guts, though.

“I’m taking my driver with me, of course,” Pacifica added, immediately losing Dipper’s original awe. “I won’t be gone forever. Besides, I’m still legally a child and it’ll look less suspicious with an adult by my side.”

“You have your own driver?” Just when he thought this girl couldn’t get any richer.

“Duh,” she scoffed. “What do you think we do? Share one with the whole family?” She flipped her hair over her shoulder, examining the ends before sighing. “I need to get away. After what happened with that weird lumberjack ghost, I realized that I need a chance to think for myself.”

Dipper was surprised at the sudden serious tone in her voice. He couldn’t keep a small smile as he put an arm on her shoulder. “You really aren’t like the rest of your family.”

Pacifica’s cheeks lit up slightly, and she muttered a ‘thanks’ before pulling away. “I should probably like, head out now.” She met his gaze once more and grinned before turning on her heal and disappearing within the throng of partygoers.

Dipper didn’t stay much longer himself. Sure, it was technically his birthday party as well, but he had never loved the attention as much as Mabel did. So once the candles on their cake had been blown out, and a few presents had been opened, Dipper slipped from the Mystery Shack with two journals pressed tightly to his chest. He paused once he was outside, looking in the window at Mabel dancing and Wendy laughing with her friends and Soos being…well, Soos. A small grin passed his lips as he finally turned away, disappearing into the woods.

He ran, brown curls fluttering under his trucker hat and small beads of sweat beginning to pool under his arms and on his chest. Dipper finally stopped in a familiar clearing, dropping the two books to the ground before him as he caught his breath.

The recently-turned thirteen-year-old allowed himself a moment to take it all in. This was where it began. All the adventures and mysteries and friendships that had occurred during this summer had really taken off after the very first time he stumbled into this clearing a few months ago. This was where he had discovered the journal.

Dipper sighed, almost wishing the third journal, the one he’d found all by himself, were with him. The first two now sat at his feet, their golden hands much less awe-inspiring than the first time he’d come across them. Perhaps it was the fact that he was getting older. No, he was always growing and changing. Maybe he’d simply gotten used to the whole ‘mystery solver’ thing. And now it was over.

“Man, oh man.” Dipper shook his head, laughing at nothing in particular. He pulled a match from his pocket, wetting his lips as he leaned down to swipe it along the worn spine of journal 1. He stared at the flickering light, the match’s orange fire reminding him of a certain dream demon’s own blue flames.

Bill was the reason he was doing this. Did Dipper really want to burn the journals? No, of course not. But Bill obviously had plans for them, plans for him, and those could very well include rebuilding the portal. He couldn’t let that happen, and thus he was given the horrible task of destroying the journals he had held so precious to him. He gazed at the first one, thinking of Grunkle Stan and all those long years of trying to get his brother back, only to find out that he was too late. Eyes moving to the second one, he thought of Gideon who was locked in prison, and Mabel who Stanley had actually given the journal to. It all felt so long ago…

Then there was the third and final journal, which had already been destroyed. He had asked Stan about it, and was equally delighted and saddened to learn that its pages had been torn out and left in tatters after their incident with Tad. Stan had apparently thrown the cover out, claiming it was useless, but Dipper dug through the garbage anyway in a futile attempt to get a keepsake. Needless to say he was disappointed (and stinky) when he left empty handed.

Sucking in a deep breath of air, Dipper returned to the present where he stood with a lit match in hand and the author’s works just below him. “I’ll have to get it over with anyway…”

And then he dropped the small wisp of fire onto the journals.

They lit up quickly, being paper and all, and filled the air with thin smoke.

“It’s been fun,” Dipper murmured, his voice low as he forced a smile across his face. “Really fun.”

~~~~~

In the dead of night, as the rest of Gravity Falls slept, Stan Pines slipped from his bed and into the insect-infested woods. Under his arm, he tucked a rather thick and worn-looking book with a small spy-glass dangling from between the pages. He trudged in silence, the summer air surrounding him like a blanket of humidity.

He flipped through the pages, eyes flickering quickly as the blurred images passed by. He muttered to himself, words quiet and forced as he continued searching for a specific page. Stan’s movements slowed to a stop as he scanned an entry on a certain demon.

A sudden gust of cool wind rustled through the trees, leaving the lingering scent of pine in the air. The glow of the stars and moon bathed the town in a soft, subtle light that still left onlookers squinting.

A bright flash cascaded the aging man’s vision, and he swore under his breath.

“Whoa there, didn’t expect to see you of all people summoning me any time soon!”

If Stan had been frightened by the sudden presence of another being, he didn’t show it.

“I wasn’t all too sure it would work, Cipher.”

The triangular demon cackled, floating downward so he was eye level with Stan. “Let’s just cut to the chase,” Bill said, his black fingers igniting in a blue flame. “What can I do for you?”

~~~~~

OREH SIH EB LLIW EHS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm already starting to pick away at the second fic. When this series does come back (whenever the hell that is), I'm hoping to be less sporadic with updates, and have way more BillDip. Seriously, this was literally just a really needlessly complicated prologue. Until then, feel free to check out some of my other fics (which include a very short and sinful one-shot as well as a Beauty and the Beast!AU).
> 
> Also, as most of you know, Gravity Falls is coming to it's final episodes. So yeah, I'll just be throwing myself into AUs for the time being. More on the finale when it actually comes around (I mean, for all we know there's gonna be another hiatus).
> 
> Thanks for reading!~


End file.
